


The colour of your voice

by YusukeKujo



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Metaverse (Persona 5), Alternate Universe - No Personas (Persona Series), Blind AU, Blind Character, Blindness, Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Slow Burn, Synesthesia, yea yusuke has synesthesia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-02
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:13:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22989145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YusukeKujo/pseuds/YusukeKujo
Summary: Akira Kurusu has been legally blind for most, if not the entirety of his life. He is only able to see shapes and people, otherwise everything is a blur of colours. Yusuke Kitagawa, star pupil of the famous artist Ichirusai Madarame. People at school know him as someone who is able to paint fantastic abstract pieces that no one seem to understand how he comes up with them. The two of them meet at an art museum, and they start to develop a friendship..maybe even something more.
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Kitagawa Yusuke, Kitagawa Yusuke/Kurusu Akira, Kitagawa Yusuke/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 15
Kudos: 124





	1. Colourful Sounds

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I legit wrote the first chapter in a day instead of doing important things so I hope you guys enjoy my tears and sweat cus I wrote this entire thing while in my study and we don't have a fan here.

“Alright class! You have one hour to roam around the museum. Meet me back at the entrance of this place at 5pm, then we will go have our dinner before heading back to our hotel!” With that, the class breaks off into their friend groups.

“Come on Akira! Let’s go this way!!”  
“Right right, I’m coming..” Akira laughs softly as he follows after his friend, Kenzou, letting him lead him by the hand so that he wouldn’t get lost. Under normal circumstances, Akira would’ve gotten teased endlessly by his classmates for holding a guy’s hand. Akira, however, was not exactly ‘normal’; the teen had been diagnosed as legally blind ever since he was a child. He used to be able to at least see shapes clearly, however, his eyesight had deteriorated since then, and all he could see now were vague shapes and people, along with a mess of barely visible dull colours.

He was currently on a school trip in Tokyo with the rest of the second years, and of all places they had to go to on the first day, it was an art museum, the perfect hang out spot for a blind person. Wonderful.

“It must be kind of boring for you huh Akira? Being in an art museum.”  
“Eh, it’s nothing, you get used to it after awhile.” Akira reassures, glancing at the general direction of where his friend was.  
“At least tomorrow will be much more fun- we’ll be able to go shopping on our own- how cool is that? Are you going to get anything?”  
“Hm? Oh, I’ll probably get some souvenirs for my parents..my mother has a list of things she wants me to get because they’re much cheaper here..”

They come to a stop in front of a painting, Akira nearly crashing into Kenzou.  
“Ken!”  
“Sorry sorry.” Kenzou laughs, turning to look at the painting. “Man this looks incredible..sometimes I wonder how people do that, you know? Paint and make art? It’s like their minds are on a different level.”  
“I can’t see anything.”  
“Right uh- lemme try to describe it to you uh..there’s like, a bunch of colours? There’s like uh- red- like, you know, an apple?”  
“You’re literally the worst at this.”  
“Hey shut up! I’m trying!” Kenzou huffs, glancing at his phone when it rings.  
“Uh hang on- my mother’s calling me, probably gonna ask if we’re back at the hotel or not..I’ll be right back!”  
Akira feels Kenzou letting go of his hand, listening to his footsteps until he couldn’t anymore. Well, he was alone until Kenzou was done with his call.

* * *

It felt like he was standing there for ages before the black haired teen felt someone approach him. While his vision was pretty much nonexistent, his other senses were heightened, such as his hearing- he heard this other person walking over even before he felt him standing next to him.

“I see you’ve taken an interest in this art piece.” A slightly deep voice spoke up. Akira turns to the direction of the new person.  
“Oh uh- I’m not actually...admiring it.” He laughs awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.  
“I uh..I’m blind- can’t see a thing. I’m here on a school trip and the teachers didn’t want me to stay at the hotel by myself.”  
“Oh..I am terribly sorry I didn’t mean to-”  
“It’s alright, don’t worry, this happens more often than you think.” Akira chuckles, turning back to the painting.

“...so uh, what are you here for?”  
“Me? Oh, well, I’m merely here for inspiration; I come here a lot whenever I need to think.”  
“Are you an artist?”  
“Well..I suppose so, yes. Though I am still learning to paint like the experts of the field.”  
“Wait- how old are you?”  
“I’m sixteen years old- ah, I realised I haven’t introduced myself yet. My name is Yusuke Kitagawa, and I am studying under the tutelage of the artist Madarame. I am a second year student at Kosei High.”  
“..you’re sixteen? I thought that you’re a lot older by the way you talk.”  
“Is there something wrong with the way I speak?”  
“Oh no it’s just- you sound really formal, you know? And your voice is kinda deep for someone my age..” Akira explains, waving the topic away.  
“Anyway, my name is Akira Kurusu, second year at Yamashida Highschool.”  
“It’s nice to meet you Kurusu-san.”  
“I can say the same to you Kitagawa-san.”

The both of them fall into an awkward silence, before Yusuke speaks again.  
“Can you..really see nothing at all?”  
“I can kinda see shapes, and like colours, but they’re really dull and they all kind of blend together. It’s also really dark too. It’s been like that for a few years now, but the doctors say that I might go completely blind one day, they just don’t know when.”  
“I see..”

Another awkward silence.

“...would you like me to describe the painting to you?”  
“Well..you’re an artist so it might be different- you can try.”  
“Right then.” Yusuke turns back to the painting, taking in the details of it. “...there are brush strokes moving from right to left, varying in thickness. It’s an abstract piece, so there really isn’t a main subject in the painting. The most prominent colours in the piece are red, orange and yellow..” Just as Akira was about to get second thoughts about how legit this Yusuke guy was, he continued talking.

“Red feels like the colour of anger, of passion. It’s the colour of alarms blaring, or when you hear someone yelling at you. You feel red when you feel like you’re in danger. Orange..orange is kind of like red, only the alarms are not as loud, and this time, they turn on to protect and alert you. I would say that orange is the colour of safety, I think that’s why they make the traffic cones orange. Yellow has a much lighter tone, it’s what it feels like to feel the sun on your skin. It’s the feeling of joy, of a summer day, the colour of laughter and applause. I think that if you could touch it, it would feel like a feather- and it’s undoubtedly one of my favourite colours..”

“..wow.” Akira breathes. “I know you are an artist but..wow, that was amazing..”  
“You really think so?”  
“Yea I mean- how did you manage to describe those colours like that??”  
“Well...actually-”  
“I’m back!!”

Their conversation was cut short when Kenzou walked over to them.  
“Oh, who’s this Akira?”  
“His name is Yusuke Kitagawa, a second year from Kosei High. Uh- Yusuke this is Kenzou Ono.”  
“It’s nice to meet you Ono-san.”  
“No way- Kosei? That’s like, one of the most prestigious art schools in Japan!”  
“Really? Huh..I was wondering why that name sounded so familiar..” Akira mutters.

“I should get going now- Sensei would be wondering where I went..” Yusuke bows slightly, smiling at the two. “It was very nice to meet you Kurusu-san, and you too, Ono-san.”  
“Sensei? Wait-” Before Kenzou can say anything else, the mysterious artist walks off.

“Who was this Sensei he spoke of anyway?”  
“Hm? Oh..he did mention that he was the pupil of Madarame-”  
“THE Madarame?! Oh my god- why didn’t you tell me??”  
“Is he that famous?”  
“Uh, yea he is. He’s not called the Man of a Hundred Styles for no reason. I could’ve gotten his autograph or something.” Kenzou sighs.  
“Whatever, we still have some time left, wanna go walk around?”  
“Yea, lets go.” Akira nods, reaching for Kenzou’s hand again before he’s led away. Still..his mind lingers on Yusuke. There was just..something different about him, and Akira can’t seem to put his finger on what. Oh well, it didn’t matter. It’s not like they were ever going to meet again, right?

“Hello? Earth to Akira??” Kenzou snaps his fingers. “Are you listening to me??”  
“Uh, no honestly.”  
“Ugh of course, I was saying that Akane wants to meet us at the gift shop.”  
“Oh- yea sure, let’s go!” Akira nods, Kenzou leading the way once again. Maybe he’ll get something nice for his parents here..


	2. Fateful Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira meets Yusuke again, this time at the Shinjuku train station. They have a bit of time to bond, and Yusuke continues where he left off the day before.

Yesterday’s incident was soon forgotten after Akira went back to his hotel; there was no point dwelling on that when he was never going to meet Yusuke again. Besides, he was here to have fun and experience what Tokyo is like! The school had given them an entire day to explore Tokyo, which was something Akira really didn’t get to do, especially since he lives at least 2 hours away from the capital.

“So, where do you wanna go first?”  
“I was thinking of heading to one of those big department stores, you know? Like...Isetan or Takashimaya maybe?”  
“Ooo that’s a good idea! There’s an Isetan in Shinjuku we can go to!”  
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Kenzou grabs the other’s hand, dragging him towards the train station. “Shinjuku is just a few stops away from our hotel so we shouldn’t get lost..”  
“If you get lost Ken I will kill you.”  
“Aww Akane don’t worry, I won’t get lost!”

* * *

The three of them thankfully got to Shinjuku all in one piece.

“Man..I can’t believe the trains are so crowded here!!”  
“What do you expect, we are in Tokyo, literally the busiest place in Japan.”  
“I suppose we do walk or take the bus a lot back home..” Akira replies, looking around the place as the group starts walking. They tap their cards at the gantry, and are immediately greeted by the crowd.

“Be careful- hold on tight!”  
“Woah- sorry excuse me coming through!”  
“Hey watch it-”  
A jostle from someone cause Akira to let go of Kenzou’s hand, which sends the three students into a panic.

“Ken?? Akane??”  
“Akira hang on!”  
“Sorry, excuse me coming through!”  
“I-”

Before Akira could continue, he felt someone grab his hand, pulling him out of the crowd. It certainly wasn’t Kenzou or Akane, that’s for sure. This person’s hand was cold, and whoever it was had long and slender fingers, and it felt like their hand was nothing but skin and bone. Who exactly was this person anyway?

They come to a stop at a less crowded area, at least, that was what Akira guessed.  
“Are you alright?”  
Wait..that voice..it can’t be-

"Kitagawa-san?”  
“Ah- yes, it is indeed me. I saw what happened and I thought that I went over to help..my height does give me an advantage when it comes to crowds I would think..”  
“What’re you doing here?”  
“Oh, I’m here to get more art supplies as the ones I have currently are running out- the art store here is the one closest to where I stay.” Yusuke explained.  
“I didn’t think that I would see you again, and here of all places.”  
“My friends and I wanted to go shopping so..” Akira explains, glancing over to his right when he hears footsteps.

“Akira!!”  
“Oh thank god- you’re uh- that guy from yesterday right? Kitagawa-san? Thanks for helping- we never really thought about how the crowd would be an issue until now..” Kenzou laughs awkwardly.  
“It’s kinda my fault for leaving my white cane at the hotel, I can’t believe I left such an important thing behind.”  
“It’s no issue. I am glad that I could help.” Yusuke turns back to Akira.  
“Then, I should get going-”  
“Wait! Why don’t you uh- hang out with us?” Akane suggests, the artist raising an eyebrow in confusion.  
“What for?”  
“Well uh..you live in Tokyo right Kitagawa-san? You could uh..show us around the place a bit!”  
“Oh- hey that’s actually a great idea!” Kenzou nods, grinning excitedly.  
“Would you like to join us?”  
“Uh..well..” Something in Yusuke’s voice made it sound like he was..hesitant about this. The tone of it made Akira slightly uncomfortable, like there was something Yusuke was hiding.

“..it’s alright if you can’t you know? You don’t have to say yes.”  
“No- no it’s alright. I suppose I could show you guys around..if you don’t mind that I stop by the art store first.”  
“Not at all! Thank you for agreeing- oh uh, I’m Akane by the way, Akane Fujimura- you can call me Fuji-chan!”  
“A-ah..it’s nice to meet you Fujimu- Fuji-chan..”  
Akane grins, “then, show us the way Kitagawa-kun!”  
“Yes of course, right this way..”

* * *

They end up splitting into groups of two; Yusuke and Akira going to the art store, and Akane and Kenzou going to the store next to it.

“Will you be okay with him Akira?”  
“I’ll be fine, I’ll call you if anything happens.” Akira reassures, letting out a chuckle. “I trust that Kitagawa-kun is a good person, I mean, he did help me out just now..”  
“I promise that I will not do anything to him.”  
“Good. I’m watching you.” Kenzou huffs, before Akane drags him away excitedly, leaving the other two behind.

“..I hope this isn’t too boring for you Kurusu-san.”  
“Just Kurusu-kun is fine. And don’t worry, I’m just glad to have someone to talk to.” Akira says as they walk into the art store, Yusuke grabbing a basket on the way in.  
“So, what sort of supplies are you getting?”  
“Just some new paints, maybe some new canvases and a set of brushes or pencils.” Yusuke replies as he starts browsing the shelves.  
“Do you paint a lot?”  
“I do. I also do a lot of pencil sketches, some of which I transfer onto the canvas. However, most of my paintings are abstract.”  
“That reminds me..”

Akira turns to the general direction of where Yusuke was standing.  
“You were going to say something before Kenzou interrupted us yesterday, weren’t you? About how you describe the colours so..vividly.”  
“Ah."

Yusuke nods, taking Akira’s hand to move on to the next shelf.

“I have a condition called synesthesia, which means I am able to see colours from sounds..if that makes sense..”  
“Oh- I think I heard about it before- some people are able to taste music too right?”  
“Yes. The term synesthesia comes from the Greek words ‘syn’, which means together, and ‘aisthēsis’, sensation. However, my condition, more commonly known as chromesthesia, only allows me to associate sounds with colours..”  
“That makes a lot more sense now that I think about it- that’s why you used sounds as one of the things to describe the colours to me that day right?”  
“That’s right. Those were the sounds I associated with the colours..”

Orange with safety alarms, yellow with laughter..and red for danger alarms, for when someone was yelling at him. Something about that didn’t sit right with Akira, but he decides not to bring it up; if it was anything personal, Yusuke surely would not talk about it unless they were really close.

“...can you describe more colours for me, Kitagawa-kun?”  
“Well..I suppose I could..what colour do you want me to describe?”  
“Could you..describe the colour of the sky for me? Everyone I’ve met always said that the sky is really pretty..” Akira trails off.  
“Of course Kurusu-kun.” Yusuke nods, letting go of Akira’s hand to grab some things off the shelves.

“The sky is mostly light blue on clear days..it feels like what the sound of a running river would look like. Light blue feels cold to the touch, like when you hold a bunch of ice cubes or snow in your hands. It’s usually associated with trust and calmness. Sometimes, however, the sky can be painted in other colours like light purple and pink. While dark purple is often associated with the sense of mystery or luxury, light purple will often be associated with soft and delicate things, along with feelings of nostalgia, I feel. If light purple were to sound like something, it would sound like a harp, and if you were to be able to touch it, it would feel like cotton candy. Pink is...well, pink is often associated with love, and I would say youth as well. It sounds like a music box, and it feels like a soft fuzzy texture, like patting a rabbit, very similar to light purple, I think- oh, I’m sorry, I’m rambling, aren’t I?”

Yusuke turns to look at Akira worriedly, expecting to see that the other was bored and that his interest was elsewhere. Instead...Akira looked like he was extremely interested in whatever he had to say.

“Kitagawa-kun, you don’t have to worry about that.” Akira reassures, giving the taller boy a smile.  
“I did ask for you to describe the sky for me after all..”  
“It’s just, well, most people tend to dislike it when I start to ramble on..”  
“Well, I guess I’m not like most people huh?” Akira feels around for Yusuke’s hand, holding onto it when he does find it, rubbing the back of it.  
“It’s fine Kitagawa-kun..tell me more about the colours of the sky..”

There is a beat of silence between them, and Akira could almost hear the cogs turning in Yusuke’s head.

“...okay then, if you insist.” Yusuke laces their fingers together, moving on to the next shelf.  
“So, as I was saying about pink…”

* * *

It was about an hour before both Akira and Yusuke finally left the art store.

“Thank you Kitagawa-kun, I really enjoyed spending time with you today.”  
“It was nothing Kurusu-kun, I’m glad that I didn’t end up boring you with all of my talking.”  
“You didn’t-”  
“There you are!!”

Once again, they are interrupted by Kenzou, who rushes up to them with Akane.

“We were wondering where the hell you two went- were you in the art store the entire time?”  
“Uh..yea actually.”  
“Woah, that’s a big bag..you sure got a lot of things Kitagawa-kun..” Akane can’t help but comment, Yusuke letting out a soft laugh.  
“It’s so that I don’t have to run down to the store again in the near future- I’m afraid I do go through a lot of supplies every month..” He mutters, pulling his phone out of his pocket to check the time.  
“Oh dear, I’m afraid that I should get going now.”  
“Before you go-!”

Akira fumbles to take his phone out of his pocket as well, handing it to Yusuke.

“Can I have your number, please?”  
“Oh..what for?”  
“Well..I thought that we could text each other- or, well, use voice messages to talk to each other..you’re a really nice guy and uh, it would be nice to have a friend in Tokyo, you know?”  
“I...see..” Yusuke nods, reaching out to take Akira’s phone. “In that case, I’ll leave my number with you..”  
“Great!” Akira grins, Yusuke handing the phone back to him.

“There, it’s saved under Kitagawa, now I really must get going before Sensei starts to get worried. Thank you for today Kurusu-kun, I really enjoyed my time with you.” With that, Yusuke turns in the opposite direction, brisk walking away from the group.

“...doesn’t he kind of remind you of Cinderella?” Kenzou asks, frowning slightly as they watch the tall figure slowly get smaller.  
“Why do you say that?”  
“I mean, he seems to always be rushing home to that Sensei of his, isn’t he? Like how Cinderella runs back at the stroke of midnight?”  
“Oh come on, maybe he’s just busy, that’s all! It must not be easy to be learning from someone like Madarame after all.”  
“Mm..I guess.” Kenzou then turns back to Akira.  
“So, what did you two talk about huh?”  
“Oh..he described a few more colours to me- he tends to go on a tangent when he starts talking about art, not that I really mind. I thought he was...interesting.”  
“Well, it is Tokyo after all, you meet all sorts of people here.”  
“I suppose so.”  
“Anyways, there’s still this store I want to go to- come on!” Akane grabs Akira’s arm to pull him away. “This way!”  
“Woah- hey slow down!” Akira stumbles slightly before he regains his balance, laughing as he follows after his friend. Perhaps he’ll drop Yusuke a text once he’s back at the hotel..hopefully he wouldn’t be too busy to reply..

* * *

The sound of the door creaking open reverberated through the house, Yusuke peeking his head in. He flinches when he sees his Sensei standing there, arms folded with a frown on his face.

“Where have you been? It’s been nearly an hour since I sent you out. You weren’t fooling around outside, were you?”  
“O-of course not Sensei! The queue was slightly longer today so I had to wait..” Yusuke stammers, his grip on the bag tightening as he braces himself.  
“...” 

Instead, Madarame turns away.

“Put those away and start preparing dinner- you’re not going to get any since you were late.”  
“Yes Sensei.” Yusuke nods frantically, rushing up the stairs before the older man could change his mind about being nice. He heads to the storage room to put everything away, flinching when his phone suddenly vibrates.  
“Who..?” Yusuke places the canvas he was holding down, taking his phone out to check.

“Hello! It’s uh- me, Akira. I just wanted to thank you again for today; I really enjoyed myself a lot. Do reply to me whenever you can- no rush of course, you’re probably busy. Anyway uh- yea that’s all I wanted to say really. Thank you!”

Yusuke couldn’t help but smile slightly after hearing the voice message. Perhaps, for once, he could say that he had a friend. His happiness was short lived however, when he heard Madarame yelling at him from downstairs.

“YUSUKE I TOLD YOU TO HURRY UP!!” The boy flinches once again, squeezing his eyes shut to try to block the red flashing before his eyes.  
“R-right, sorry Sensei!!” He better put everything away and start on dinner before Madarame’s mood turns sour, replying Akira can wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, another chapter done within a day! I'm on a roll lmao. Tbh the reason why I'm trying to get as many chapters out right off the bat is because I am going for an internship soon and when I do I will have lesser time to write. So while I can, I'm going to write as much as I can. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!!


	3. Childhood Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yusuke finally replies to the voice message, and Akira and Kenzou reminisce about their childhood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so before we start, Chiyo is Akira's mother, and Mia is Kenzou's mother. Akira's vision was only blurry when he was younger, and wearing glasses helped improve it; his vision only started to deteriorate when he was about 10. Both Kenzou and Akira are about 4-6 in the flashback, which are the italicised texts.

When Akira woke up and saw that Yusuke hadn’t replied, he was starting to think that Yusuke won’t actually text back- I mean, who takes this long to reply to a simple text? Then again, Yusuke did see pretty busy; there was a reason why he rushed off after getting all the things he needed, right? Just as Akira was about to give up all hope on waiting for Yusuke’s text, his phone pings. It’s Yusuke! 

“Hello Kurusu-kun. I’m terribly sorry for the late reply. I am glad that you enjoyed yourself yesterday- I enjoyed myself quite a lot too. I do hope that I did not end up boring you with all of the things I talked about, and for suddenly rushing off like that. Please help me apologise to Ono-san and Fuji-chan as well- it was really rude of me to leave without saying goodbye to them. I hope that they aren’t offended by my actions yesterday.”

Oh wow, Yusuke sure loved to keep apologising. He’s been doing that ever since they first met. The same feeling of ‘something isn’t right’ came back to Akira once again, but he quickly shook those thoughts out of his head, instead opting to reply to Yusuke.

“Hey Kitagawa-kun! It’s no big deal, there’s no reason to apologise to us. I mean, Akane and Ken probably don’t mind all that much anyway. I should say sorry instead for taking up your time when you seemed to be busy. Is it school assignments that you’re doing? I heard from Ken that Kosei can be very intense..”

It takes a few minutes for Yusuke to reply.  
“Indeed, I am working on an art piece for school right now. I usually take up more projects than the given ones because I complete my pieces so quickly.”

“Wow, you must be a really good artist if that's the case huh?”

“Oh no, I'm far from that. I'm still learning everyday, and Sensei is nice enough to impart his wisdom onto me. I'm only where I am today because of him..”  
“Your sensei sounds like a nice guy.”  
“He truly is. He's humble and never once flaunted his riches to anyone, he only does it because he loves art, because it's his passion.”

This Madarame guy must be really great if Yusuke's talking about him like that huh?

“Akira are you ready? We gotta head down to have breakfast!”  
“I'm ready! Let me just reply to Kitagawa-kun first- can you help me check if my white cane is in my bag?”  
“Sure thing!”

Footsteps, then rustling, no doubt Kenzou checking his bag.

“Well, I gotta go now otherwise Kenzou's going to start whining-”  
“Hey!”  
“Anyway I'll talk to you later Kitagawa-kun!” Akira sends the message before he stands up, reaching for his bag.  
“Let's go then, I'm sure Akane is already waiting for us.” He chuckles, Kenzou holding onto Akira's arm to lead him over to the door.  
“She's always been waiting for us ever since middle school huh?”  
“Well we can't help it, it used to be just the two of us after all.” Akira laughs.  
“That's true, remember when we were supposed to hang out with her and arrived an hour late? Man she was really mad that day.”  
“Nothing ice cream couldn't fix though.”  
Kenzou laughs when he hears that, closing the door behind him.

“You know, it felt like we met only yesterday. Which is really weird cus we met when we were like, really little.”  
“Yea, I know what you mean. It's just hard to imagine that we've been friends for so long huh?”  
“Remember how our first meeting went?”  
Akira snorts, “how could I forget? Our mothers arranged a playdate for us and…”

* * *

  
_“Come on Akira, don't be shy, it's okay..”_  
_The bespectacled boy peeks out from behind his mother, only for him to duck behind her again._  
_“I'm sorry about him Mia-san, he doesn't really do well with new people..”_  
_“Oh it's alright, that's understandable.” Akira clings onto his mother, gripping onto her skirt tightly as the lady smiles at him._  
_“Let me call Kenzou down, perhaps he'll be less shy if he has someone his age to play with.” She turns towards the stairs, “Kenzou!! Can you come down here please??"_

_The soft pitter patter of the footsteps came from upstairs, a young boy running over to the door. He had short, light brown hair, as well as blue eyes. Kenzou seem to light up when he sees Akira, turning to look at his mother._

_“Who's this mama?”_  
_“This is Akira-kun and his mama, Chiyo-san, he's your age! He's a little shy and he can't really see clearly so...be nice to him okay?”_  
_“Okay!”_  
_“Now, why don't you go show Akira some of the toys that you have?”_

_Kenzou turns to look at the other boy, smiling at him. “Wanna come look at the toys I have?? I have a lot!!”_  
_Akira turns to look at his mother, who gently nudges him towards Kenzou. “Go on, it's okay. I'll be downstairs if you need me.”_  
_“..okay..”_  
_“Yay!!” Kenzou reaches over to grab onto Akira's hand, pulling him over to the stairs._  
_“Kenzou slow down!!”_  
_“Okay okay.”_

_The two of them head upstairs to Kenzou's room, the brown haired boy letting go of Akira's hand._  
_“This is my room! Do you like it? I have a lot of cars, do you wanna play with them?” Kenzou grabs a bunch of toy cars, handing them over to Akira._  
_“I...actually like animals more, b-but I like cars too..” Akira whispers, Kenzou lighting up when he hears the other talking._  
_“Oh- that's cool! I have a book about animals- we can look at the pictures in there!”_

_Kenzou heads over to the toy box he had in the corner of his room, rummaging through it to pull a book out. The boy stumbles a bit when he first carries it, turning to grin at the other. In his arms, was a thick book, with a few animals on the cover of it, as well as a few English words, likely the title of the cover._

_“I can't read a lot of the words in here..so I get my mama to read it for me..but we can still look at the cool animals!” He waddles over to the beanbag chair next to the toy box, getting comfortable before he turns to Akira._  
_“Don't just stand there- come sit here with me!!”_

_“...” It seemed like Kenzou's friendliness was enough for Akira to get over his shyness; Akira does move to sit next to him, Kenzou shifting closer to the other so that they could both read the book._  
_“What's your favourite animal? Maybe we can find it in here!”_  
_“Oh...I like butterflies- I think their colours are really pretty- but uh, some boys might think that butterflies are too girly..”_  
_“No way! I think that they're really colourful too!” Kenzou grins. “Sometimes I go catch butterflies with my papa in the forest- oh! Maybe you can come with us one day!”_  
_“I don't know if my mama will let me go..”_  
_“We can ask her! Maybe your papa can come with us too!”_  
_“Maybe.” Akira nods, smiling as they flipped to the page with the butterflies._  
_“What's your favourite animal Kenzou?”_  
_“I like lions, they're so fluffy!! Look, I even have a lion plushy!”_

_Kenzou stands up to head to his bed, grabbing the lion plushy off to show it to Akira._  
_“His name is Leone, he's the king of kingdom here! He rules over all of the animals and people here- he says hi!”_  
_Akira giggles, “hello Leone!”_  
_“Oh no! Leone says that there's been a bunch of aliens trying to attack the kingdom- we have to stop them!” Kenzou grabs more plushies off his bed, turning to Akira._  
_“Come on, we have to get our weapons!”_  
_“O-okay!”_

* * *

_The two of them end up playing together for a few hours, and they were in the middle of making peace with the alien king when their mothers come upstairs to check on them._

_“Well, it seems like you two are getting along just fine.” Mia smiles, Kenzou turning to his mother._  
_“Mama mama!! We defeated an alien king!”_  
_“That's very brave of you two, unfortunately, the alien king has to wait another day; Akira-kun has to go home now.”_  
_“Oh..”_

_Both of the boys seem to pout when they heard that, Kenzou turning to look at Chiyo._  
_“Can Akira come over again next time Chiyo-san?”_  
_“Of course he can! Just let your mama know and we'll arrange a playdate for the two of you okay?” Chiyo smiles, picking Akira up._  
_“Now, say bye Akira!”_  
_“Bye bye Ken!”_  
_“Bye bye!! Come over again so we can destroy the aliens okay??”_  
_“Okay!!”_

* * *

“Do you still have Leone?”  
“..don't tell anyone, but yea, I do. He sits on my desk now though, not my bed.” Kenzou says sheepishly, Akira snorting when he hears that.  
“So much for being manly.”  
“Don't tell anyone!!”  
“Yea yea, I won't.”  
“Good.” Kenzou huffs, jabbing Akira's side.  
“I won't forgive you if you do.”  
“Okay okay I won't!!” Akira laughs, Kenzou pressing the button for the lift, leading Akira in.

“..still, thanks for sticking around all those years Ken.”  
“Aw geez, it's nothing Kira, you know that you're my best friend- and I wouldn't trade you for anything in the world.”  
“Hehe, thanks..”  
Akira reaches to hold onto Kenzou's hand, squeezing onto it tightly. “Really, thank you..”  
Kenzou doesn't say anything, instead squeezes back, rubbing his thumb over the back of Akira's hand. They didn't need words to tell each other how much their friendship meant to them, this was more than enough..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooo we getting a backstory chapter this time. Here's a little glimpse into Kenzou and Akira's friendship and how they met. The next chapter will shift the focus back to Yusuke again so stay tuned!


	4. Friendly Banter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yusuke has a burst of inspiration, and Akira goes back to his hometown. They bond over a phone call in the following days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be honest I feel like this chapter is a bit messy, but here's more bonding time between Akira and Yusuke :')

The week draws to an end, and much to Yusuke’s surprise, Akira kept sending those voice messages. The artist did his best to reply as fast as he could, or whenever he could. They have gotten to know each other slightly better; Yusuke has learnt that Kenzou and Akira have been friends since they were very young, and that they met Akane when they were in middle school. In return, Yusuke has told Akira that he had been living with Madarame ever since he was three, and that he had been doing art ever since he could remember. He would’ve loved to talk about his friends..but Yusuke didn’t exactly have any, not when everyone in school thought he was weird and refused to talk to him. That however, did prompt Akira to ask about his parents.

_“According to Sensei, my father had passed away even before I was born, and my mother died in a car accident when I was only three years old. Since he knew my mother, Sensei decided to take me in after he felt sympathy for me.”_  
_“Oh...I’m sorry Yusuke, I didn’t know, I wouldn’t have asked you such an insensitive question if I knew..”_  
_“It’s alright, I am not too upset about it, many people have asked me the same question before.”_  
_“Do you miss your mother?”_  
_“Sometimes. I can’t remember what she looks like since I was so young when she passed, so I suppose there’s a silver lining to it..”_  
_“Yusuke…”_

Yusuke couldn’t tell why Akira sounded upset when he said that; it wasn’t so bad, right? He was not familiar with his mother when she had died, and it’s a good thing because he would not feel upset. Akira quickly changed the conversation after that however, so there was no use dwelling on it..

* * *

It has been a few days since that conversation, and the topics they talked about are much lighter now. Yusuke had just replied to Akira’s latest voice message before he had to head out to Shinjuku; he was sent to go get groceries by Madarame. The boy had written a list of things he needed, and was currently heading towards the supermarket when he came across quite a big crowd of people. Was there some sort of event that he did not know about? He was about to turn to leave, already not keen on facing the crowd, when he spots a familiar face- Akira!

The artist was about to walk over, or even call his name to try to get his attention. However, he stops himself, instead choosing to watch Akira quietly. He had to admit; Akira was good looking, and Yusuke would’ve loved to ask him if he could model for a piece had Akira not been on a school trip. Yusuke was intrigued, to say the least, by how fluffy Akira’s hair looked, and how bright his smile was. If only there was a way to show Akira-

Inspiration seemed to hit Yusuke like a truck, his eyes widening. That’s it! He could make a painting with different textures so that Akira could ‘feel’ the art piece! He’s never done something like that before, so it might take him a long time before he can complete it, but Yusuke was ready to take on the challenge. Ah, he would have to work on it when he went back to school however, so that Sensei wouldn’t end up taking the piece away. He can however, work on what kind of textures he wants to use for the painting while he waits.

With that, Yusuke turns to rush off, heading straight towards the supermarket. He needed to get the supplies as quickly as possible- but first, groceries, least Sensei gets mad at him for taking too long once again. Besides, Akira looks busy with his friends right now, Yusuke didn’t want to intrude on them…

* * *

“Mm..it’s good to be back!” Akira sighs as he stretches, flouncing onto his bed.  
“Hey hey, you haven’t taken a bath yet, don’t lie in your bed!” Chiyo scolds, putting Akira’s bag down in the corner of the room.  
“Get up and get yourself cleaned.”  
“Okay okay..” Laughing, Akira sits up, perking up when he hears his phone pings  
“Oh- hold on-” He reaches for his phone, pulling it out of his pocket.

“Hello Kurusu-kun, I hope that you have arrived home safely. I saw you at the train station with your bag this morning and assumed that you were going home. I decided not to approach you however, since I didn’t want to intrude on you or your friends. Do let me know when you’ve got home safe and sound.”

“Oh? Who’s that?” Chiyo turns to her son, “did you make a new friend?”  
“Hm? Oh uh- yea! I met him in Tokyo- his name is Yusuke Kitagawa!”  
“He seems like a nice guy, polite too.”  
“Yea, he speaks really formal too- I think it’s cus his Sensei’s old.”  
“Sensei?”  
“Oh- yea, he’s an artist, and he lives with this old guy called Madarame who is his mentor when it comes to art.”  
“Ah, old men do talk really formally huh?” Chiyo chuckles, ruffling Akira’s hair.  
“You can reply to him first before you take a bath, just don’t take too long, yea?”  
“Okay!”

Chiyo then leaves the room, Akira turning back to his phone to reply to Yusuke.

“Hi Yusuke! I actually just got back home, so you have great timing! You wouldn’t have been intruding on us, you didn’t have to worry about that- I mean, I’m pretty sure that Akane would’ve loved to see you again before we left, and so would Ken! But oh well, what’s done is done. Anyway, I’m gonna go take a bath then unpack my bag and probably get some rest, and maybe reply to you if you replied! So uh- yea! I’ll talk to you later!”

Once the voice message was sent, Akira gets up from his bed, grabbing a change of clothes as he puts his phone aside. He’d definitely like to go back to Tokyo to visit Yusuke one day, maybe during the next holiday, which Yusuke would hopefully have much more free time..

* * *

Now that Akira was back in his hometown, he had more time to talk to Yusuke without having to worry about running around exploring with his friends. What he did not expect however, was to receive a call from Yusuke. The teen quickly reaches around for his phone, answering the call before it could end. 

"Hello?"  
"Ah, Akira-kun, I hope that I haven't caught you at a bad time."  
"No no- you haven't! I was just starting to get bored just sitting around, and was about to call you when my phone rang actually!"  
"Ah, I see. Well, I was thinking that since you are home, we should call each other when we have free time."  
"...you mean like- right now?"  
"Oh- yes actually. Like right now." 

Akira can't help but chuckle at how oblivious Yusuke was, which only seemed to confuse the other. 

"Is there something wrong Akira-kun?"  
“Nah, it's nothing Yusuke, don't worry about it. So, what are you doing right now?”  
“Hm? Oh, I'm just working on a sketch, I might transfer it onto a canvas if I think it looks good..”  
“Again? You’re really hardworking when it comes to your artwork huh?”  
“I do enjoy what I do after all, and I try to pen down my inspiration before it’s lost.”  
“I suppose that it’s a good idea..”

Yusuke hums in reply, the sound of his pencil scratching against the paper.  
“...you know, I’ve been meaning to ask, what is your favourite thing to draw or paint?”  
“Oh..well, I like to draw profiles of people. I often spend my time people watching to look for inspiration. My favourite spot is at the Shinjuku train station; I’d just stand outside the gantry area and watch people walk in and out of the station. Most of the time I would have a sketchbook with me in case I see something that is really interesting.”  
“Wow..does everything you do have to do with art Yusuke? I mean..is there anything you do that does not end up being made into a sketch or painting or..something?”  
“...”

The line goes silent, like Yusuke was thinking about what Akira said.

“..Yusuke?”  
“Sorry I was just- thinking. As I had said before Akira-kun, I do enjoy doing art, not just for school. I would consider art as my hobby, so a lot of things I do end up going into art. Well..I suppose I do like watching documentaries about sea creatures from time to time.”  
“Oh! What is your favourite sea creature then?”  
“I like lobsters- I think that they’re amazing creatures, don’t you think? Their bodies have 19 different sections to it, each covered by a section of the exoskeleton covering their body. They don’t actually have teeth in their mouths; they have them in their stomachs which help digest their food. Did you know that lobsters don’t ever stop growing all their lives? The largest lobster ever recorded was around 20kg, and was about 90 to 120 cm- it’s even said that it was at least 100 years old! They- a-ah..I’m sorry, I’m rambling once again..”

Akira frowns when he hears that. “Yusuke..you don’t have to be sorry, really I don’t mind. In fact, I very much enjoy listening to you talk about the things you like and are passionate about! You don’t have to always stop to apologise for such things..” 

He really didn’t like the fact that Yusuke constantly apologised for almost everything that he did; it almost felt like he was..used to doing that, a habit that was cultivated from the environment he was in, and Akira can’t help but feel like whatever Yusuke’s environment was, it was definitely not the best. This wasn’t the first time Akira had to reassure Yusuke that he didn’t mind listening to him talking, and it probably won’t be the last either.

“I...I just didn’t want to bore you..” Yusuke mutters.  
“You’re not boring to me Yusuke, don’t worry about it okay? Now, can you tell me more about lobsters?”  
“Oh, well..alright then, if you say so..”

* * *

They end up talking about different sea creatures for about an hour, and Akira could almost hear Yusuke smiling when he talks. Oh, that reminds him- he didn’t know how Yusuke looks like. Akira only knew that Yusuke was tall, and had long and bony fingers which were cold. He should ask Yusuke if he could trace his face the next time they meet in the future..

A sound from Yusuke’s line snapped him out of his thoughts, which were followed by rustling- likely Yusuke standing up.

“I’ve got to go Akira-kun. I’m sorry for cutting this short.”  
“It’s alright Yusuke! And you can just call me Akira- no need for formalities, we’re friends after all!”  
“Thank you Aki-”  
“Yusuke?!”  
“I-I’ve got to go, bye!”  
“B-”

The line cuts off before Akira could reply, the teen frowning slightly. That was weird, was that Yusuke’s Sensei?? Huh..maybe Madarame just needed help with something, and Yusuke would be able to call him back later.

* * *

“Who was that you were talking to just now?”  
“Um...just someone I met a couple of days ago.”  
“Oh? Are they from your school?”  
“Not..exactly..they’re from another school..I met them at Shinjuku..”  
“Well, as long as you don’t let this distract you when it comes to your art.”  
“O-of course Sensei! I would never!!”  
“Good.” Madarame nods, “now, go get changed, I have a dinner with a few high profile people and I want you to come along, and don’t take too long to get ready.”  
“Yes Sensei.”

Not wanting to do something wrong to piss Madarame off, Yusuke scurries up to his room to get changed. No doubt that Madarame only wanted to show him off to people again, but who was Yusuke to complain? Besides, going with his sensei for a dinner, it meant that he would **definitely** get dinner tonight- there’s no way Madarame would be seen denying his best student any food in the public eye after all.

Once Yusuke had slipped into a pair of formal black pants, a simple white shirt and grey jacket, he grabs his bag and heads downstairs.

“I’m ready to go Sensei!”  
“Good, go wait in the car for me, I have a few things to sort out.”  
“Okay..”

Well, Sensei seemed to be in a good mood today, hopefully he stays in this good mood for the rest of the day. Yusuke walks to the car parked in front of the shack, settling down into the passenger’s seat. Don’t space out, talk politely to everyone, don’t freak out...it’ll be okay. The young artist takes a deep breath, letting his eyes fall shut. Be on his best behaviour, and Madarame will not get mad at him..he can do that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nguifh this definitely isn't the best chapter so far, and I'm sorry. I've kinda gotten a writer's block these few days and ughfdhf idk. Hopefully the next chapter will be better :") kudos and comments are always appreciated!


	5. Birthday Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akane invites Yusuke to her birthday party. When Yusuke isn't able to go, the group improvises a little bit.

The holiday continues, Akira and Yusuke often calling each other to just talk. Sometimes Kenzou and Akane would be over, and they would encourage Akira to call Yusuke just so they could talk. As expected, Yusuke wasn’t available most of the time, always claiming that he had more work to complete, or that he had functions to attend to with his Sensei. It almost seems like the poor boy can’t catch a break, even though it was the summer holidays. Despite that, the artist manages to call Akira rather often, even bonding with him in the process, as well as with Akane and Kenzou. They've even made a group chat for the four of them. It felt...nice, being able to talk to people the same age as him without them calling him weird. For once, Yusuke felt like he had people to call ‘friends’.

* * *

“Hey Yusuke!”  
“Hello Akira.”  
“Yusuke!!”  
“Ah, hello Akane, it's nice to talk to you again.”  
“Yea! When was the last time we talked anyway..like, three days ago?”  
“Yea..you always seem busy...”

The door to Akira's room opens, Kenzou holding up two bags.

“I've got the goods!”  
“Awesome!”  
“Thanks Ken.”  
“You're very much welcomed.” Kenzou laughs, settling down next to Akira on the floor as Akane starts to dig through the bags.

“Oh- Yusuke! Hey dude! Haven't seen you in awhile.”  
“Hello Kenzou. I do apologise for being unavailable.”  
“Nah don't say that dude, we get it, you're a busy guy!”  
“I feel bad for being unable to respond to Akira's texts..”  
“Yusuke...you don't have to apologise or feel bad for leaving to do the things you need to.”  
“Speaking of which, why were you unavailable anyway?”  
“Sensei has an upcoming exhibition, and he has lots of meetings with the people and sponsors behind it. I am to follow him to those functions to meet new people who can help with my pursuit in a career in the art scene.”  
“You wanna be an artist when you're older?”  
“Yes of course! It's what I love doing, it's my passion.”  
“Eh, I don't know what I was expecting, of course you're gonna be an artist, and an amazing one at that!”  
“Ah, I know I can't see, but I'm sure your artworks are amazing Yusuke!”  
“Actually Akira, I've been working on something for you..”  
“You..have?”

That piqued Akira's interest. Something for him?? What could Yusuke make that could be useful for him? It's not like he can see the drawings or paintings he makes.

“Yes. However, it's not finished yet, and I would much rather give it to you in person when it's done.”  
“Then..I'll look forward to receiving it.”  
“Hey! Why is Akira getting a present and not me?” 

Akane pops her head back into the screen.

“What do you mean Akane?”  
“My birthday is in a few days, and I'm hosting a party! Well, it's going to be a small one with just Akira and Kenzou really..but I'd like to invite you too Yusuke!”  
“M-me?”  
“Yea! There'll be cake, food, games, all that fun stuff!”  
“Oh yea! You should totally come Yusuke, it'll be fun!”  
“Well-”  
“Kenzou and I can fetch you from the train station if you need, we don't mind. It’s only a two hour train ride from Shinjuku station.”  
“I..”

Yusuke goes quiet, chewing on his bottom lip. What should he say? There's no way Sensei will let him travel out of Tokyo, much less to go to a friend's house, a friend that Sensei doesn't know. However, if he were to tell them no now..they might end up despising him. At least, that's how it works right?

* * *

_“Kitagawa-kun!”_

_All eyes were immediately on him, people starting to whisper amongst each other. Yusuke does his best to ignore them, turning to look at the classmate standing in front of him._

_“Yes?”_  
_“I'm having a birthday party this weekend! You're invited!”_

_The young boy is handed a slip of paper, decorated with a cake in the middle, along with party hats._

_“Everything you need to know is on the paper, just pass it to your Sensei. Let me know if you can come!”_  
_“I..”_

_Yusuke glances around, starting to feel all too uncomfortable with all those eyes in him._

_“..I’ll ask Sensei if I can go.”_  
_“Great! Let me know if you can come or not tomorrow!”_

_The boy runs off, leaving Yusuke to stare at the invitation in his hands. He's almost ten now, maybe Sensei will let him go to the birthday party this time._

* * *

_"I'm home!”_  
_”Welcome home Yusuke.”_

_Yusuke takes his shoes off, placing them into the shoe cabinet. He made sure to place them in the correct spot, next to one of his Senpai's shoes, so that Madarame doesn't get mad at him for being sloppy._

_“Sensei?”_  
_“In the dining room.”_

_The child makes his way there, still carrying his school bag. Sensei seemed like he was in a good mood today..hopefully he gives Yusuke the green light to go._

_“Um..Sensei I have a question..”_  
_“What is it Yusuke?”_  
_”Well..”_

_Yusuke puts his bag down to retrieve the invitation. He places it onto the table in front of Madarame, taking a step back._

_“A classmate of mine invited me to his birthday party and..I was wondering if I could go..”_

_Madarame picks the piece of paper up, furrowing his brows as he reads it._

_”..Yusuke you know that weekends are reserved for your paintings. You already don't have a lot of time due to school.”_  
_“Y-yes I know Sensei! But I'll work hard, I promise! I won't fall behind!”_  
_“No means no Yusuke. You know I only do this for your safety.”_  
_“But I'm almost ten this year Sensei!! I'll be okay, I promise!! Look, the party is only until 8pm so-”_  
_“I said **no**.”_

_The tone of Madarame’s voice immediately shut Yusuke up, the boy bowing his head to break the eye contact._

_“Y-yes Sensei..”_  
_“Good. Now go upstairs. I've got important things to do.”_

_Not wanting Madarame to suddenly get mad at him, Yusuke picks his bag up and dashes off, scrambling to the stairs. So much for hoping._

* * *

_“I...I'm sorry but I can't go to your party. Sensei said no..”_  
_“Oh..that's okay! Maybe next year then!”_  
_“Yea..maybe next year..”_

_Yusuke heads over to his seat, pulling his sketchbook out. He could practically feel everyone's eyes boring holes into him._

_“Look at him, always drawing and mumbling to himself. He should be grateful that someone wanted to try to be friends with him in the first place.”_  
_“Right? Who does he think he is?”_  
_“He's just using his Sensei as an excuse; he probably thinks that he’s too good to spend any time with us..”_  
_“Ugh what a weirdo..”_

_Sighing, Yusuke takes a pencil out and starts drawing. Just ignore them. It's not worth listening to their mindless gossip.._

* * *

  
"Uh hello? Yusuke??”  
“Hm?” He turns back to look at his phone’s screen, making eye contact with Akane.  
“I’ll ask Sensei if I can go to your birthday party Akane..however, I can’t make any promises that I will be able to go.”  
“Alright!”  
“Now, if you will excuse me..” Yusuke stands up from his spot, heading out of the room. It was unlikely that Madarame would let him go out, but he had to ask right? Maybe..maybe it will be different this time.

  
“Sensei?”  
“What is it Yusuke? Do you need something?”  
“Oh, well- uh..” The boy stumbles over his words, trying to gather his thoughts.  
“I was..wondering if I could go to a birthday party this weekend. It’s uh...it's outside of town..a two hour train ride from Shinjuku..”

The look on Madarame's face already told Yusuke all that he needed to know; the furrowed brows, the slight frown on his face, like he had come across something off putting.

“Yusuke, you know that we will be busy making preparations for the upcoming art show. If the party was nearby, I would’ve let you go..but travelling out of Tokyo by yourself is dangerous..”

Lies. Madarame never cared for his safety. The red swirling around in his vision made Yusuke feel sick. They both know that Madarame was lying through his teeth, sugar coating his words to make it look like Yusuke was being an unreasonable brat. All of this care and concern..is nothing more than a mere facade.

“Do you understand Yusuke? I'm only doing this because I care about you. What if you get into trouble? I won’t be able to help you if you’re not in Tokyo. Besides, I don’t know whose birthday party you’re going to, are they from your school?”  
“N-no..I met them a few weeks ago at the art museum.”  
“Then you barely even know them! Who knows what they are thinking. You are not allowed to go.”  
“Of course Sensei, I’ll tell them that I can’t go.”  
“Good. Run along now.”

Yusuke leaves in a hurry, returning to his room. He shuts the door behind him, going back to his seat.

“Well? What did your sensei say?”  
“He said that I can’t go, as I expected. I’m sorry Akane..”  
“Aww that’s okay! Maybe next time then!”  
“Wait, as expected? Yusuke...are you allowed to hang out with your friends at all?” Akira asks.

There is a beat of silence, before Yusuke replies.

“I don’t exactly have a lot of friends, in fact, I think you three are the only people I can consider as friends.”  
“What? Why? You’re a nice guy Yusuke, surely you have a few friends in school right?”  
“...the people in school..don’t like talking to me. They think that I'm weird because of the way I act..”  
“What's wrong with the way you act?”  
“..sometimes I don't understand social cues, and I end up saying the wrong thing. They also think that I'm weird for spending so much time on my art, and...they don't like the way I talk..”

Oh, how that tugged at Akira’s heartstrings when he heard that. Yusuke sounded so..resigned, like there was nothing he could do about it. There was a hint of sadness in his tone as well..he must be lonely, having no one to talk to at school, or even at home for that matter- it seemed like Yusuke only lived with his sensei, and it must not be fun talking to an old man all the time.

“...hey, I’ve got an idea! Why don’t we just video call him during the party! Sure he can’t have the cake and all that, but we can still talk to him and play games!”  
“That’s a great idea! It’s like he’ll be here with us, kinda.”  
“Will you be able to call us during the weekend Yusuke?”  
“Well..Sensei usually won’t be around on the weekends so..I don’t see why we can’t do that.”  
“Great! It’s settled then, we will call you when the party starts!”  
“I can’t wait- it’s going to be amazing- you’ll love it Yusuke, for sure!”  
“I look forward to it then..”

* * *

The day of the party finally arrives, and Yusuke could barely contain his excitement. Madarame had already left the night prior (Yusuke has no idea where he went, but this was definitely in his favour), so he had the entire house to himself. Normally, whenever Madarame left, Yusuke would have conflicting feelings; on one hand, he would feel relieved that he was alone, and on the other, he felt..lonely. At least when Sensei was around, the house didn’t feel empty. Today however, was different: he had a party to attend.

It was only a little after 12pm did Yusuke’s phone start ringing, and he immediately picked up.

“Hello?”  
“Hey Yusuke.”  
“Ah, hello Akira, it’s nice to be able to talk to you again.”  
“Yusuke!”  
“Is he on?”

Both Kenzou and Akane pop into the screen, Yusuke smiling when he sees them.

“Happy birthday Akane.”  
“Aw thanks!”  
“I’m sorry that I’m unable to make it to your party.”  
“It’s alright Yusuke! Maybe you’ll be able to come next year!”  
“Maybe..“

There's an awkward silence, then Akira speaks.

“Um..if it makes you feel better, my birthday's in October so...maybe you'll be able to attend my birthday party if I host one.”  
“Akira I'd be delighted to.”

Ah. Yusuke sounded like he was smiling. That's nice.

“Are you two just going to talk to each other the whole day? Or are we actually going to start the party?”  
“R-right yes, sorry. Please go on.”  
“Great! Let's get this party started!”

* * *

They spent about an hour chatting over food- well, Akane, Kenzou and Akira had food, Yusuke just watched. Kenzou suggested that Yusuke got some snacks so that he could join them, but the artist claimed that he ‘wasn't hungry’. Once everyone has had their fill, they move on to something else.

“What are you guys doing now?”  
“We're gonna play video games- uh, this game called Rhythm Heaven!” Kenzou replies.  
“Have you played it before Yusuke?”  
“No I can't say that I have..”  
“Okay well, it's a game where you hit buttons according to the beat and sounds of the game. it's pretty easy- Akira's amazing at the game!”

Yusuke seems shocked to hear that.

“You can play this game Akira?”  
“Well..yea. Most of it is just based on sound so I can play it easily. Plus Kenzou modded it so that there are instructions being read out to me- sometimes I laugh when I hear his voice when I play this game.”  
“H-hey! I didn't have anyone else to help voice the lines!” Kenzou huffs, Akira laughing as Akane boots the game up.  
“I know I'm kidding. I appreciate it a lot Ken, thank you.” Akira chuckles, reaching for the controller.  
“It's in front of you Akira.”  
“Thanks Akane.”

Akira snatches the controller up, navigating the menu. Sure enough, Kenzou's voice came through the speakers, reading whichever words Akira hovered the pointer over.

“Wow..that’s amazing Kenzou.”  
“Aha..it was nothing. I just didn’t want Akira to feel left out when we’re playing video games you know? It was the least I could do for my best friend.”

Akira smiles when he hears that, looking rather flustered.

“..um, who’s going to play against me?”  
“Not me, you kicked my ass at this game the last time we played it.”  
“I’ll go then!” Akane grabs the other controller.  
“You’re seriously going to go against the king of this game?”  
“Yea! Best out of five, the loser has to clean up after the party!”  
“Oh you're so on.” Akira laughs.  
“Hang on lemme just-” 

Kenzou takes the controller from Akane.

“If you two wanna compete, you have to play Rhythm Fighter.”  
“Huh?”  
“It's a Rhythm Toy- you know, you unlock it after getting 21 medals?”  
“Oh..I've not played that before.”  
“Akira and I have, he beat my ass at it.”  


After clicking a few buttons, Kenzou hands the controller back to Akane.  
“There you go, just press 'A', the game will start. On the count of three. One...two....THREE!” 

  
It's clear that after a few rounds, Kenzou wasn't lying when he said that Akira was good at the game: he was absolutely destroying Akane at it. Yusuke's eyes widen as he watches Akira play the game with starling accuracy. Of course, with loss of sight meant that his other sense would be heightened, including his hearing. Before Yusuke knew it, Akira had beat Akane three to zero.

“I told you that you were gonna lose.”  
“Damn it!” Akane huffs, Akira laughing.  
“We could go for another round, all or nothing.”  
“No thanks, I don't want to further embarrass myself then I already have..” Akane sighs, passing the controller to Kenzou.  
“Your turn now.”  
“Think you can go easy on me Akira?”  
“I’ll think about it.”

* * *

  
They played the game for about an hour, making conversation with Yusuke so that he didn't feel left out. Despite not being physically there with them...Yusuke had never felt happier in his life. It truly almost felt like he was there with them at the party.

  
Unfortunately, all good things had to come to an end eventually right? It was starting to get late, and Akira and Kenzou had to go home. After saying goodbye to Akane, the two of them headed off, Yusuke still on the call with them.

“So, did you have fun today Yusuke?”  
“I did, thank you Akira, I had a lot of fun. The only regret that I have is that I couldn't be there with you..”  
“Well I'm glad you had fun Yusuke- **we're** glad that you had fun, right Kenzou?”  
“Yea!! So there's no need to thank us!”  
“I'll be sure to invite you to my birthday party if I have one, hopefully then you'll be allowed to come over!” Akira adds.  
“I hope so.” Yusuke nods, glancing at the clock on his wall.  
“Ah, I should..get going..it's getting quite late.”  
“Oh uh- it is isn't it?” Akira laughs awkwardly, Yusuke chuckling as well.  
“Do let me know when you're home.”  
“Of course.” Akira smiles.  
“Well then...bye Yusuke.”  
“Goodbye Akira.”

With that, Yusuke finally hangs up, Akira sliding his phone into his pocket.

“..you know Kira, I've been wanting to say this, but didn't since Yusuke was around..doesn't it seem like he barely goes out at all?” Kenzou says, Akira furrowing his brows.  
“You're right. I thought that it was kinda weird that his sensei won't let him come here, but then again, I guess the elderly are kinda overprotective sometimes you know? Plus, if his sensei is a famous artist, he probably doesn't want Yusuke being too far from him in case he gets into any sort of trouble.”  
“Ooh..you mean like those stories where they kidnap friends or family of the rich and ask for ransom?”  
“I- well, yes maybe.” Akira snorts.  
“Why are you laughing?”  
“It's just- I was thinking more of what if Yusuke got hurt while he was out, not..that.”  
“I mean you'll never know! Then again if they were to try anything I'd punch them in the face.”  
“I'd support you.”  
“You of all people shouldn't be agreeing with me Kira.”  
“They can't accuse a blind guy for punching them- it'll just make them look bad.” Akira grins.  
“Look what happened to that last guy who tried to sue me.”  
“Just cus he got charged doesn't mean you can get all cocky about it.”  
“I know I know..”

They walk in silence for a bit.

“..I still can't believe he tried to sue you. What a rotten man..”  
“Dude relax, he's not going to be showing up any time soon.”  
“Still! I'd like to have given him a punch before he went to jail.”  
“And risk going to juvie for that?”

Kenzou let out a grumble, Akira rubbing his back.

“It's fine Ken, everything's fine now.”  
“I...I still feel bad about it. I mean, if I hadn't left you alone-”  
“We've talked about this right? It's not your fault, you didn't know.”  
“...if anything had happened to you, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself.”  
“And nothing happened to me, so you don't have to feel so upset.” Akira sighs, giving Kenzou's hand a squeeze.  
“It's okay Ken, really. I'm okay..”  
“...I hope that asshole guy gets what he deserves.”  
“Who knows? Maybe he will one day, just not today..”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay first of, I'm sorry for the SUPER late update: work and all that got the best of me and I was procrastinating. To be honest I didn't really know how to start the chapter so I just kinda...left it. It's here now though, and while I can't make any promises, I'll try to update the fic more frequently. I hope you guys understand :')


	6. Beautiful Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's almost the end of summer holidays. Akira decides to go hang out with Yusuke at Tokyo. He receives a present, and they share a rather intimate moment

“Ugh..Yusuke I'm bored…” Akira groans, the other teen humming in acknowledgment.  
“Yuuusukeee you're not even talking to meee.”  
“I am talking to you Akira, I just fail to see how I can help you with your plight.”

Akira lets out another groan, burying his face into his pillow. The end of the summer was drawing near, which meant that Kenzou and Akane were rushing to complete their homework. Akira had laughed at them at first, only to realise that he had no one to hang out with if they were busy with their work, so he decided to talk to Yusuke to fill up his time instead. Despite having finished his homework however..Yusuke still seemed busy, as he always was.

“..Yusuke do you ever take any breaks?”  
“I’m sorry?”  
“It’s just..you always seem so busy, like you never stop painting..do you really have that many things to do?”  
“..I have a portfolio to build up Akira, I’ve been entering competitions to try to get recognised by potential sponsors. I want to work towards my goal.”  
“..you’re really dedicated huh?”  
“Well...it /is/ my passion. My mother was an artist too, I suppose it runs in the family.”  
“Oh- yea! You mentioned that once didn’t you?”  
“Yes..although, I can barely remember what she looked like..but I know that she was an amazing artist. I just wished that I had some of her pieces to look at..”  
“..your Sensei doesn’t have any?”  
“No..he said that they were all sold off, and he couldn’t keep any.”  
“Not even one?”  
“Not that I know of..”

That was strange, Akira would’ve thought that someone like Madarame would keep something to remember his student by, especially if he was nice enough to take Yusuke in...perhaps he was just reading too much into it?

“..what are you currently doing now Akira?”  
“Me? Oh, nothing much. Akane and Kenzou are trying to finish their homework so I don’t really have anyone to hang out too since I’ve been done with mine a while ago.”  
“Ah, I see.”  
“I was actually hoping that I could head down to Tokyo again, but I don’t exactly have anyone to go with me unless it’s my mum...and I kinda would like to hang out with a friend instead, you know?”  
“..would you like me to bring you around instead?”  
“...huh?”  
“Around Tokyo, we could meet at Shinjuku station and I could take you out for lunch.”  
“..you’re willing to do that for me? What about your Sensei?”  
“The exhibition is over so he’s giving me a bit of time off, I can tell him that I’m heading out to look for inspiration, or..just tell him that I am meeting a friend. We could go out and do things you want.”  
“I..I’d really like that Yusuke. But uh- I gotta ask my mother about it, though I’m pretty sure she would allow me to go.”  
“Wonderful! Do let me know when you’ve gotten her permission, and I’ll let you know if Sensei lets me go..”  
“Great, we can arrange a day once we’re both given the all clear!”  
“Yes, I look forward to seeing you again Akira..”

* * *

Much to Akira’s joy, his mother allowed him to go down to Tokyo, provided that she would drop him off and pick him up from Shinjuku station, and once Yusuke confirmed that he could hang out, they arranged to meet up on the coming Friday for lunch.

“Akira are you ready?”  
“Y-yea! In a minute!”

Akira grabs his white cane before sticking his hand into his bag.

“Phone, wallet, keys-”  
“Did you bring along an umbrella?”  
“I'll be fine mum, I'll be meeting you at the station anyway, remember? Plus, the weather report says that there won't be a chance of rain today.” The black haired teen smiles, Chiyo letting out a chuckle.

“Right right, I just wanted to make sure that you have everything.”  
“I’ll be fine mum...you’re gonna meet Yusuke anyway- and you’re gonna love him!”  
“I’m sure I will.”

Chiyo then grabs her car keys, picking her bag up.  
“Ready to go then?”  
“Yep!”  
“Great, let’s go then.” She walks over to Akira, bumping the back of her hand to Akira’s, allowing him to hold onto her arm.  
“What kind of guy is Yusuke?”  
“Well…”

Akira trails off as Chiyo places her hand onto the handle of the car door, letting Akira open the door to get into the car. He waits until he hears the driver’s door open and shut, only starting to speak again when Chi starts the engine of the car. 

“He’s really formal I would say, but aside from that, he’s a really nice guy! He likes painting and drawing, and he likes marine biology; lobsters are his favourite.” He chuckles.  
“He talks a lot, but I like it, I think his voice is really nice and soothing..although, I don’t really know what he looks like- I might ask him if I could trace his face later today when we meet..”  
“Hm..he seems nice, you do seem to be getting along with him- you spend a lot of time talking to him.”  
“Oh, I didn’t even realise...but now that you mentioned it, I do spend a lot of time talking to him..”  
“Well, he can’t be that bad of a person if you like him so much.”  
“I promise you that Yusuke’s a really nice guy- he wouldn’t even hurt a fly.”

It was about 11.27am when they reached Shinjuku station, Chi leading Akira through the crowds of people as she glanced around, trying to look for Yusuke.

“Do you see him?”  
“Akira dear...I don’t know what your friend looks like.”  
“Oh, yea.”  
“Maybe give him a call?”  
“Right um-”

He reaches to his pocket, pulling his phone out. Since they were in a rather crowded area...Akira was straining to hear the voiceover coming from his phone. “Ugh..” he grumbles, furrowing his brows. “Maybe I should get earpieces for when I come to Tokyo- I can’t hear anything..”  
“Hm, I guess we do live in a quiet town so you never really saw the need for those...maybe you should get some while you’re out today..”

Thankfully, before they could worry about anything else, they hear someone calling Akira’s name.  
“Ah, there he is...he’s really tall.”  
“Right?”  
“Akira!”

Yusuke walks over to them, turning to look at Chiyo.  
“Oh, is this your sister Akira?”  
“Sister? Oh my, you flatter me.” Chiyo laughs.  
“I’m his mother.”  
“Ah, I see. You look really young so I assume, I’m sorry- um..”  
“Don’t apologise for that, that made me really happy- I’m going to be thinking about that for the rest of the week- oh, you can call me Chiyo!”  
“It’s nice to meet you Chiyo-san.”  
“Hehe, you’re right Akira, he’s really nice.”  
“I told you.”  
“Well, I’ll leave you with him then- you’ll take care of my son for me?”  
“Of course, he’s in good hands.”  
“Good.”

Akira then lets go of Chiyo, reaching over to Yusuke, who steps closer to him to take his hand.  
“Let’s go.”  
“Hang on Yusuke.”  
“Hm?”  
“Don’t hold Akira’s hand like that, it’s not practical since he’ll be lagging behind you and he won’t have enough time to react to steps and curbs.”  
“Oh..I’m sorry Akira.”  
“Nah, you couldn’t have known, don’t apologise for it.”  
“Here’s how you should do it.”

She bumps the back of her hand with Akira’s left hand, letting him follow her arm up to hold onto it. “You let him know that you’re close to him by bumping hands with him and letting him hold onto your arm. You should also keep your arm by your side when guiding him, and be sure to stop before steps or curbs so he can catch up and follow you.”  
“I see..”

Yusuke then lets go of Akira’s hand, copying what Chi did before, Akira letting out a chuckle as he moves to hold onto Yusuke’s arm. “Is this better Akira?”  
“Yes, thank you Yusuke.”  
“Don’t thank me, I only want to make you comfortable. I’m not really good at this so..I’ll do my best to learn.”  
“You’re so sweet Yusuke..”

And..really skinny too. Akira knew that Yusuke has bony fingers but...his wrist and arms...are really skinny, way too skinny for someone who’s much taller than himself. Akira was almost scared to grip too hard onto Yusuke, like he could accidentally crush him..

“Right then, I’ll meet you here at 4pm okay?”  
“Alright mum, see you later.”  
“Here’s your goodbye kiss.”

Chiyo then kisses Akira’s cheeks, causing him to blush in embarrassment. “Mummm..”  
“Bye!” She laughs, rushing off before Akira could complain.  
“..your mother is a lovely lady.”  
“She is, but she likes to embarrass me in front of my friends.”  
“I think it’s rather cute- a display of her motherly love..”  
“Mm..I suppose..”  
“Well, shall we get going?”  
“Yea! I’ve been waiting for this day!”  
“Then let’s go, there’s a nice little restaurant I want to take you to..”

* * *

The boys had lunch at a quiet little Italian restaurant; Akira did not hear a lot of chattering when they got there. Despite the lack of customers, the food served to them was amazing, well, Yusuke did mention that it was run by a small Italian family. Once they were done with lunch, Yusuke took Akira to an electronics store to get a pair of earpieces.

“Pick a colour for me Yusuke.”  
“Oh- are you sure?”  
“I mean, I can’t see, and I trust that you’ll pick a colour that suits me..”  
“Alright then..” 

Yusuke looks around at the selections, then hands a pair to Akira. 

“What did you choose?”  
“Red. I think it suits you.”  
“Really?”  
“Yes..you’re normally wearing black clothes..I thought that a pop of colour would be nice- black and red go really well together.”  
“Hm..alright then, I’ll get these. Let’s go pay, then you can show me around..” 

Once they have paid for the item, Yusuke takes Akira to a nearby park, away from the crowd and all the noise. They found a bench in a quiet spot to sit on, Akira finally relaxing as he sighs.

“Thank god, the crowd was starting to tire me out.”  
“I agree, no matter how many times I come here, I would never get used to the crowd..”  
“Really?”  
“You sound surprised.”  
“Well..it’s just, you’ve been living here ever since you were young..”  
“That is true, but I was never one for crowds..it’s too noisy, it can get overwhelming..”  
“Ah, yea, I think I know what you mean..”  
“Mhm..”

They sat in silence for a little while, then Akira hears Yusuke shuffling around, like he was going through his bag.  
“What’re you doing?”  
“Remember when I mentioned that I was making something for you? I’ve finished it, I want to give it to you, please hold out your hands.”

Akira does as he is told, and Yusuke hands him something.  
“It’s a painting I made, I tried to make textures using the paints I have..I um, painted a flower..”

The first thing Akira feels are the bumps on the canvas, all in a circular shape- the petals of the flowers, the paint was a lot thicker, making the petals stand out against the flat canvas. He could feel the stem of the flowers, the leaves….and despite the rather clumsy execution of it, Akria could clearly tell the difference from petal to leaf, stem to the clouds in the sky..

“..do you like it?” Yusuke’s voice snaps Akira out of his thoughts.  
“Yusuke..this- this is amazing, I love it- did you paint this by yourself?”  
“Yes. I tried using different techniques to paint the different elements- I used a paint scalpel to make the petals, and cotton balls to paint the clouds in the sky…”  
“You did amazing- oh my god, I love it Yusuke..”  
“I’m glad you like it..”

Akira turns to Yusuke, “um, actually can I ask you a question..?”  
“Oh, what is it?”  
“Could I..trace your face please? I..wanna know what you look like- or, feel what you look like..”  
“A-ah, well, I um..”  
“It’s okay if you don’t want me to of course! I’m just..kinda curious.”  
“..I don’t mind..”  
“R-really? Then- um, is it okay if you uh..guided my hands..?”  
“Of course.”

He feels calloused hands gently taking his, Yusuke shifting closer, placing both of Akira’s hands onto his cheeks. Skinny, cold- he could feel Yusuke’s jaw and cheek bones, and he had rather rough skin too, which was rather unexpected: he would’ve thought Yusuke would take care of his skin. Despite that, he could not feel any acne or scars...Yusuke must simply be blessed. Akira then starts to trace his fingers over Yusuke’s face. When he sweeps his fingers over Yusuke’s forehead, he feels a fringe, parted to the right, almost covering his left eye. Not expecting that, Akira flinches a little.

“What’s wrong?”  
“Aha, I didn’t think that you’d have a fringe, so I got a bit startled..”  
“Oh..is it because of the texture?”  
“Yea..”

Akira tucks Yusuke’s fringe behind his ear, feeling the texture of his hair. It felt rather thin, and coarse too. His skin felt rough to the touch, and kinda oily too. That made sense- it was summer, the heat was really starting to wear everyone down. He gets to Yusuke’s eyes, the other closing them when Akira brushes over his eyelids. Long lashes, and even longer lower lashes. Baggy skin under his eyes that felt like dark circles..

“...your lashes are so pretty..” Akira whispers, not wanting to break the quiet intimacy they had.  
“You think so?”  
“Yea, I bet your eyes are gorgeous, even if I can’t see them..”

Fingers trail lower, moving to Yusuke’s nose. A rather long nose bridge, low too. Akira almost hesitates to trace his fingers over Yusuke’s lips, but he does it anyway. Thin and chapped lips..Yusuke’s face was not perfect but…

“...beautiful.”  
“Pardon?”  
“You’re beautiful Yusuke, you’re so pretty, I mean it..”  
“Oh..thank you Akira..”

Humming, Akira brushes Yusuke’s fringe behind his ear again, Yusuke letting out a soft sigh as he leans against Akira’s touch, even more when Akira rests a hand on his cheek. Clearly, neither of them wanted to pull away, and Akira was more than happy to indulge both Yusuke and himself, his thumb gently tracing circles over on his skin, feeling the dark circles under his eyes, feeling Yusuke’s lashes flutter against his thumb…

“Your hands are so warm..”  
“Really? Your face is kinda cold so..I guess that makes sense..”  
“Hm..”

Akira feels his cheeks heating up when Yusuke presses closer to his hand, but he doesn’t pull away. God, he could do this all day if the world allowed it; run his hands through Yusuke's hair, trace over his beautiful face..he could do this forever..

_..ping!_

The phone notification breaks their tranquility, Akira quickly pulls away from Yusuke. What was that? Why did he just...sit there with his hand on Yusuke’s cheek? This was the first time Akira took his time when he was tracing over someone’s face..it...was kind of nice.

“S-sorry, I didn’t realise that we were so close to each other..”  
“That’s okay, no need to apologise..”

Yusuke turns away to dig through his bag, pulling his phone out.

“...ah, I’ll have to stop by the supermarket to get ingredients for dinner.”  
“Is that your Sensei?”  
“Yes, he wants soba for dinner, I’ll have to see what’s available today..”  
“Then we should get going!”

Akira quickly stands, taking Yusuke’s arm when he;s standing as well.. “Yes, I suppose we should, it is getting quite late after all, your mother will be here soon..”  
“Yea...we should do this more often, hang out..I enjoyed myself today.”  
“Ah, I’m glad, I had fun too.”  
“Then...let’s do this again some other time?”  
“Yes, of course.”  
“Promise?”

Akira holds out a pinky towards Yusuke.

“..what are you doing?”  
“It’s a pinky promise, so we can’t break our promises to each other.”  
“...”  
“..nevermind I-”

He stops when he feels Yusuke hooks their pinkies together, Akira breaking out into a smile.

“I promise that we will do this again.”  
“Great, and no breaking it!”  
“Of course, I would never dream of doing that..”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHWIUGSEHGFLISJG I FINALLY UPDATED THIS HOLY SHIT  
> UMM IT MIGHT NOT BE AS GOOD AS THE OTHER CHAPTERS CUS,,,YEA BUT I FINALLY DID IT I'M SORRY FOR GHOSTING ALL OF YOU AAAAAAA
> 
> Also I tried my best to correct some things about how Yusuke guides Akira aaaa I took advice and went online to watch some videos on how to properly guide someone :')) I'm sorry if there's still mistakes!!


End file.
